EPMU National Conference endorses merger with SFWU

Delegates of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union have today voted in favour of a proposal to merge with the Service and Food Workers Union.

The merger will now be subject to a vote of all EPMU members through a postal ballot.

“This is a tremendous milestone for the merger, which has been under discussion for quite some time,” says Bill Newson, EPMU national secretary.

“It is also a significant step forward for the union movement in New Zealand.

“The role of unions has never been more important. As the nature of work changes, and exploitative trends like offshoring jobs, zero-hour contracts, and down-skilling technical jobs become more common, workers need strong support and advocacy to ensure they get a fair deal.”

The new union would have over 50,000 members and be the second-largest union in New Zealand.

If both unions’ memberships endorse the merger proposal, it will go ahead with a new union name and brand to be launched in October this year.

Selwyn Manning, BCS (Hons.) MCS (Hons.) is an investigative political journalist with 23 years media experience. He specializes in reportage and analysis of socioeconomics, politics, foreign affairs, and security/intelligence issues.
Selwyn has extensive experience as a commentator and has provided live political analysis to a wide range of television and radio organizations broadcasting in New Zealand, Australia and globally including the BBC (Five Live, London) and BBC (World Service). He is currently a correspondent to Australia's FiveAA radio, and is a regular live-on-air panelist on Radio New Zealand's The Panel with broadcaster Jim Mora.